Shire Oak Academy Turning Potential into Excellence Headteacher

Shire Oak Academy Turning Potential into Excellence

Headteacher: Mrs A. Stoddart Pastoral Manager and Assistant Principal: Mrs C. Smith Assistant Pastoral Manager: Mrs A. Youster Head of Year 7: Mrs L. Blakemore Assistant Head of Year 7: Mrs A. Bell SENCo: Mrs S. Williams Success Centre Manager: Mrs K. Kay

Mrs A. Stoddart Headteacher

Hi future Y 7’s! Mrs L. Blakemore Head of Year 7 I’m Mrs Blakemore and I’m your Head of Year. I’ve worked at Shire Oak Academy for 8 years within the SEN department, my specialist subject is Geography. I love to travel and enjoy visiting new places, my favourite holiday is skiing. I have an 11 year old daughter so I’m up to date with all your latest ‘crazes’ and phases! A big part of my job is to make sure you are happy, safe and well at school. You can come to me with any questions or concerns and I’ll be happy to help you. In the meantime, if you have any questions then please email me blakemore. l@shireoakacademy. co. uk. I’m looking forward to meeting you and can’t wait to start our journey together at Shire Oak!

Mrs Bell bell. a@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hello, my name is Mrs Bell. I will be your assistant Head of Year - I am based in the north pastoral office during form time and you will all be seeing me popping into your form rooms regularly. I have been a teacher here at Shire Oak for many years. I teach computing and I am also a driver for e-safety across the Academy. I’m looking forward to meeting you all in September! I’m sure you are all excited and nervous to start your journey at Shire Oak if you have any questions please feel free to email me. See you all soon!

Form tutors have a very important and caring role. They monitor the progress of pupils (both socially and academically), encourage involvement and commitment to school life and ensure students in their care strive to achieve high standards of work and behaviour. Form tutors are often the first people to communicate with your child when they arrive at school in the morning. If pupils feel they need to talk to a member of staff about a problem or a concern the form tutor is usually the first port of call. If the problem is more serious then a member of the pastoral team will get involved. Please feel free to write to your child’s form tutor or Head of Year if you have concerns. If you would rather phone please ask to speak to the Head of Year

Mr P. Bennett bennett. p@shireoakacademy. co. uk Miss P. Redmond redmond. p@shireoakacademy. co. uk Miss E. Day day. e@shireoakacademy. co. uk Mr D. Eley eley. d@shireoakacademy. co. uk Miss D. Howitt howitt. d@shireoakacademy. co. uk Mr L. Holford Miss C. Williams Mrs D. Sartori Miss M. Evans holford. l@shireoakacademy. co. uk sartori. d@shireoakacademy. co. uk williams. c@shireoakacademy. co. uk evans. m@shireoakacademy. co. uk

Miss Howitt howitt. d@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hi, I’m Miss Howitt and I will be a year 7 form tutor from September. My form will be 7 N 1 (Newton) in room N 111. I work in the Success Centre within the Acorn & Oak rooms and am a teacher of City & Guilds. I have lived in many different countries around the world and spent several years in India. I am really looking forward to meeting you all in September and to sharing your journey through Shire Oak Academy.

Mrs Sartori sartori. d@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hello Year 7 I am Mrs Sartori and will be form tutor for 7 N 2 (Newton) from September. Our form room will be N 108, which is on the ground floor of North building. I have worked at Shire Oak for a long time. I am not a subject teacher, I am part of the SEN (Special Educational Needs) team. I also used to be part of the Maths Department & still enjoy a Maths challenge. I am a good listener and am happy to help you if you have any problems. If I don’t have the answers for you I will point you in the right direction. Looking forward to meeting you all, until them stay safe.

Mr Bennett bennett. p@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hello year 7. I’m Mr Bennett and my form will be 7 N 3 (Newton). Our form room is A 103 which is in the Performing Arts Block. I am one of the music teachers at Shire Oak and some of you may already know me from your current school. Until this year, as well as teaching at Shire Oak, I also taught brass at a number of local primary schools. If you attend Forest Arts, you may also have met me there as I conduct a number of bands on Tuesday evenings. . I have 2 daughters who are both at secondary school and as you can see from the photo, the main instrument that I play is the Trumpet. I also run the school band, so I’m hoping to get a few talented musicians coming up into year 7 in September. I’m really looking forward to meeting you all and helping you to settle into life at Shire Oak.

Mr Holford holford. l@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hello, my name is Mr Holford. I will be the form tutor for 7 D 1 (Darwin) (THE BEST) in N 210. I was a pupil at Shire Oak Academy from year 7 through to sixth form; I then went on to work at Shire Oak and currently work in our Success Centre where we offer support to all pupils who are struggling with the challenges life throws at them. I find myself a great listener who will help guide you through your journey at Shire Oak Academy - someone who you can confide in whilst also being able to make your journey here with us fun and exciting. I have worked alongside Bradley Walsh in the world's largest pantomime ‘Peter Pan’ in December 2017. I can’t wait to meet and get to know you all in September. See you soon!!

Miss Williams williams. c@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hi Year 6 - soon to be 7! I’m Miss Williams! My form will be 7 D 2 (Darwin), we will be based in N 212 which is on the second floor in North. I usually work in Maths, room S 116, which is based in South building so you will see me running backwards and forwards in a morning. I have worked at Shire Oak for 5 years and before that I worked in a few primary schools, I have also had a short period working in a nursery. I love being creative so I’m hoping that we will be able to join in on the various competitions and projects that run throughout the year - I think we will be the best! I have 3 dogs so you will hear lots of stories about some of the crazy things that they get up to. I love animals so would love to hear about any pets you have! I’m really looking forward to meeting you all as soon as possible, until then look after yourselves and I will see you soon! Miss Williams : )

Miss Day day. e@shireoakacademy. co. uk 7 D 3 Hello! I am Miss Day, form tutor for 7 D 3 (Darwin)! Our form room will be N 301, the room of champions! I am a teacher of social science and you will be my first ever year 7 form so I can’t wait to start this journey together! Hopefully, you have all had a break and are ready to start at Shire Oak in September- I am already looking forward to meeting you all and getting to know you! To get to know me you should know I LOVE all things pink- even my classroom, I love travelling, these pictures were from a month in Cambodia and Bali! And most importantly, I LOVE monkeys!

Mr D Eley eley. d@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hello year 7. I’m Mr Eley and my form will be 7 F 1. Like Formula 1 we will be leading from the front from the start. Our form room is N 109. Hope you enjoy watching my video -my daughter and I enjoyed making it Looking forward to meeting you all in September.

Miss Evans evans. m@shireoakacademy. co. uk My name is Miss Evans and my form will be 7 F 2 (Faraday). You’ll be my first ever year 7 form as I’ve only ever had a year 10 or 11 so it’ll be fab to take you through your 5 years a Shire Oak. I am one of 4 art teachers at Shire Oak and you can find me in N 304 (guaranteed to be the best looking room in the building with all my displays!) but I do apologise that you will have to climb the 3 floors to find it! Get ready to count your steps everyday! I hope we will have lots of fun throughout your journey at Shire Oak and obviously win all the form competitions! A little bit about me: you’ll find me usually drawing in my free time but you’ll also find me with either my dog, Pippa or my two rabbits. Any problems or stresses you might have about starting I will always be there with a listening ear for you. I’m looking forward to meeting you and starting this journey!

Miss Redmond redmond. p@shireoakacademy. co. uk Hi, my name is Miss Redmond I will be form tutor form 7 F 3 (Faraday) Five years ago I left Shire Oak as a pupil in year 11. I then returned a few months later to begin my work placement in the Success Centre. Straight away I knew that this was the job for me! Offering emotional support, intervention and advice to our students is a key part of my job. Being there for you through both the good and the bad times is really important to me. I can’t wait for us all to work together as a team to make the next few years at Shire Oak the best they can be. I’m looking forward to seeing you all in September!

An extremely important partnership must exist between parents, pupils and school in order for your child to gain maximum benefit during their education. If you have any problems or concerns about your child, or a query about any aspect of school life, please in the first instance get in touch with your chid’s form tutor via email. For concerns that you wish to discuss with Mrs Blakemore, please email initially: blakemore. l@shireoakacademy. co. uk

Start of the Academy Day 8. 40 – 9. 05 Morning Registration 9. 05 – 10. 05 Lesson 1 10. 10 - 11. 10 Lesson 2 11. 10 – 11. 25 Break 11. 25 – 12. 25 Lesson 3 12. 25 - 12. 55 Lunch for Year 7 12. 55 – 1. 55 Lesson 4 2. 00 – 3. 00 Lesson 5 3. 00 - 5. 00 Detentions/extra curricular End of the Academy Day

Preparing for the Academy Day It is vital all students attend school with the necessary equipment and a suitable bag - pouches/small handbags are not suitable. Encourage your child to check they have all their equipment as PE kits, cooking every day. Forgotten items such ingredients, homework are not allowed to be dropped off by parents/carers during the day. It is always best if your child gets all their things ready the night before. Pupils have a diary to record homework, reading logs and any other important information. Please check it regularly. It can be used to send a note to their form tutor or HOY.

PE lessons & extra curricular It is expected that all students participating in Physical Education wear the correct school kit as specified on the website. Students have four periods of PE each 2 week timetable. Students follow a programme of 8 different activities per year. Some of the extra curriculum activities at SOA for year 7 pupils: ● Boys football/rugby/basketball clubs & teams ● Girls and boys athletics teams ● Girls football/netball/rounders clubs & teams ● Recreational boys and girls fit club ● Recreational table tennis ● Recreational tennis ● Girls and boys weight training club ● House sports events in a wide variety of sports

Update on purchasing school uniform 15. 06. 20 in addition to the following stores online service: Crested Schoolwear https: //www. crestedschoolwear. co. uk/ is open from 9. 30 am Monday 15 th June conforming to government guidelines with a queueing and one way system. From 1 st July it has extended opening hours. Clive Mark schoolwear https: //www. clivemark. co. uk/clive-mark-walsall is operating an appointment booking service from 18 th June 2020.

UNIFORM We have very strict uniform rules. Pupils who arrive to school wearing incorrect uniform must report to their Head of Year. Pupils wearing incorrect uniform may have to spend the day out of lessons. Ties are an important part of our uniform and we recommend that parents purchase two ties to avoid any issues. Pupils who come to school without their tie may need to spend the day out of lessons. Parents can purchase new ones via parentpay and pupils can collect their tie from Mrs Waite in South Pastoral office.

Jewellery & Hair styles There is to be NO jewellery worn and no piercings. (Except for one pair of small stud earrings and a watch) No extreme hair styles are allowed and natural hair colours only are permitted. Make-up Girls are not allowed to wear make-up in years 7 to 9 nor can they wear nail varnish. Pupils must not wear false nails or eyelashes. Pupils with incorrect piercings will be removed from lessons until the piercing is removed. Pupils wearing false nails/eyelashes (that they cannot remove) will be withdrawn from lessons until they are removed.

Punctuality We expect excellent punctuality • School starts at 8: 40 am, pupils are expected in their form rooms at this time so should be on site by 8: 30 am • Late pupils must attend a 10 minute break time detention, failure to attend will result in a 30 minute detention after school. • If students are late to school after registration has closed, they must sign in at reception when they arrive and make up time missed.

Attendance • Should your child be unable to attend school, it is important that you ring the switchboard, before 8: 30 am and leave a voicemail on the year 7 absence line. Alternatinately, you can email their form tutor. • Going to school regularly is very important. Each day missed makes it more difficult to catch up with work and homework. • If attendance falls below 96% it has been proven it affects learning and achievement at school. • Attendance should not be lower than 90%. If this does occur the Education Welfare Service will get involved. Please note, medical evidence is required if attendance falls below 90% - a call or email is not sufficient.

Holidays • Holidays should not be taken during term time. • Applications for holidays should be made in writing to The Principal • If refused, a fine will be issued

Detentions At Shire Oak, we understand that everybody makes mistakes but sometimes if too many are made, a detention/behaviour points are likely to be issued by members of staff. A detention can last for 10 minutes, half an hour, an hour or two hours. It really depends how serious the matter is, or how often it happens. It is important that your child attends detentions because they will either have a longer detention or be withdrawn from lessons, should they not attend. If you have the Shire Oak app and you can see that your child has received a behaviour point. Notification of the detention will be emailed to you the day before the detention is to be served so parents know in advance that a detention has been set. Pupils who have to be removed from lessons receive an hours detention that day. You will be informed of this by email.

Have you got our App? Here at Shire Oak we have our own School App. This can be found in both the Apple App store and Android Play Store. Here the school shares news, letters, important dates as well as our two newsletters, the Oak Leaf and the Pastoral Newsletter. Another important App is the SIMS Parent App. On this app you will have access to your child's school information with the ability to edit at any point. You can see their timetable as well as achievement and behaviour points. You will need an activation code for this app which can be requested by contacting Miss Harrington on harrington. e@shireoakacademy. co. uk giving your name and your child's full name.

Have we got your latest contact details? As we move further into a digital world making sure we have the most up-to-date contact details is vitally important. Please ensure that Telephone and Mobile numbers are updated with school if they change as well as Email Addresses.

Lunch Students get 30 minutes for lunch and must remain on site. School meals are available. Anyone entitled to free school meals must make an application to the Education Authority. We run a cashless system for lunch. Pupils will be registered in September by having their fingers scanned. They can then top up money at the pay point in North or parents can use a system called Parent Pay to top up the accounts. We advise parents to pay online rather than sending pupils in with cash daily. Parents can use Parent Pay to check what their child has eaten each day and check how their money is being spent!

Praise and Rewards Although we have a detention system, we love to focus on praising pupils who get it right! House Points are awarded to pupils by staff for excellent effort, participation, attitude, work etc. Parents receive emails every evening when a pupil receives one. Each week, the form champions are recognised on the Newsletter. Above and Beyond Awards are given out by staff when a pupil goes above and beyond what is expected. All recipients are displayed on the newsletter. A weekly champion is chosen and given a £ 5 shopping voucher. Attendance rewards are given regularly and include non uniform days, film afternoons, £ 5 vouchers or even a visit to an ice cream van! Conduct points are worked out by taking the childs negative behaviour points off the childs praise total. Pupils get prizes when they reach 50 conduct points, then 100 conduct points etc. . These tend to be Amazon vouchers.

Bad Weather Always assume Shire Oak Academy is open, unless you hear via the radio, by contacting the school or checking the school website. Under no circumstances should parents assume that the school is closed unless it has been verified by school staff. Parents will be contacted by email as long as details are up to date.

Toilets Pupils are not allowed to visit the toilet during lesson times, unless it’s a real emergency. All time missed is made up either at break, lunch or after school. Toilets should be visited during break and lunchtime or between lessons without missing teaching time. Year 7 pupils can use South building toilets during their lunch time. Toilet passes can be issued if there are genuine medical reasons. Please put these in writing to the Head of Year 7.

Bicycles/scooters It is advised that pupils wear a helmet. Bikes/scooters will be kept in the bike shed which is locked. Students will need to bring their own padlock. Bikes/scooters are left on school site at their owners risk. Students must not ride bikes on the school site. All students wishing to ride their bikes to school must pass a bikeability test. More information to follow in September.

Illness in school • We have a first aid room where pupils who require regular medication will need to go. ALL medication must be brought in to the first aid room, labelled clearly with instructions. • Pupils who feel unwell can be sent there, but they need to be sent by a member of staff and not just take themselves there. • Pupils must not phone their parents to come and collect them if they feel unwell. This must be done properly via the first aider or a senior member of staff.

Inhalers Pupils who need inhalers should bring a named spare and hand it in to the first aider ready for use in an emergency. Any spares must be kept in date.

Drinking water All pupils are allowed to drink water during lesson time. The water should be in a clear plastic bottle and children should ask permission in lessons to have a drink. Pupils must bring their own water in. They are allowed to refill bottles at lunchtime or break at designated water stations. We do not allow any fizzy drinks (pop/energy drinks etc) on the school site, these will be confiscated and won’t be returned if seen. Repeat offenders will incur detentions.

Cars Parents - Please do not bring your cars on to the school site, either in the morning or at the end of the day. If possible please avoid dropping pupils off right by the gate, this can cause congestion and be very dangerous.

What is Accelerated Reader (AR)? https: //shireoakacademy. co. uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reading-at-Shire-Oak. Academy. pdf All children in Years 7 -9 will be part of the Accelerated Reading Programme which encourages reading for pleasure. AR helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. You child will complete a STAR reading test which determines your child’s reading level. It is a computer based reading assessment program. Children will be required to read in form time and as daily home work and log what they have read in their diaries. Your child picks a book at his/her own level and reads it at his/her own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer - passing the quiz is an indication that your child has understood what has been read.

And finally – pupils should try to get involved in their form and house • Fundraising • Thought for the Day/Assembly • House Point totals • Year competitions • Sports day • Form captain/stars • School council reps • Form spirit and looking out for each other We are looking forward to hearing about all the lovely things our pupils do, , please keep us informed!